The Prairie Detective: Secret Service Series No. 24

THE PRAIRIE DETECTIVE This installment (#24) of *The Secret Service* series, a monthly crime-detection periodical published by Street & Smith in October 1889, presents a Western detective serial by Leander P. Richardson. The narrative opens in 1859 on the Kansas prairies, establishing a frontier setting of buffalo hunters, trappers, and settlers vulnerable to attacks by "The Bloodsuckers"—a notorious outlaw band led by the mysterious "Persimmon Bill." A lone survivor named "Posey" Ryan survives an encounter with them and swears revenge. The story focuses on Fort Hays, a winter gathering place for hunters, and introduces Doc Harper's twin daughters, Esther and Marian. A mysterious, heavily-armed stranger visits Fort Hays, arousing Esther's suspicion through his scarred forehead, blood-stained weapons, and cryptic warnings about being hunted. His increasingly agitated confession suggests a man fleeing some dark past, hinting at connections to the outlaw conspiracy at the story's center.